OGC Nice–Stade Rennais: Les Aiglons Led by Elye Wahi Punish Rennes (5–2)

Stade Rennais suffered a heavy defeat away to OGC Nice in a game that could have allowed them to confirm their place in the top three for another week. Elye Wahi scored a hat-trick, with Jonathan Clauss and Mohamed Amoura also finding the net for the home side. Good performances from Sebastian Szymański and Boulaye Dia were not enough to turn the tide.

Tactical analysis and match report by André Martins.

Nice were coming into the game in good form, with three wins and one defeat in their previous four matches. Rennes can sometimes struggle for consistency over the course of a season, but they were sitting second behind PSG before kick-off, having recorded five wins, one draw and two defeats. Competition was fierce just below them, so Franck Haise’s side had every motivation to secure a good result. Perhaps the 55-year-old coach also had a personal score to settle after his relatively unsuccessful spell in charge of OGC Nice between July 2024 and December 2025.

The game went the home side’s way and turned into one of the highest-scoring matches of the 2026–27 Ligue 1 season.

Olivier Pantoloni opted for a 3-4-2-1, with Yehvann Diouf in goal and Xavier Mandza, Youssouf Ndayishimiye and Mohamed Abdelmonem forming the back three, flanked by wing-backs Niels Nkounkou and Jonathan Clauss. Hicham Boudaoui and Djibril Coulibaly made up the midfield double pivot, with Mohamed Amoura and Sofiane Diop supporting Elye Wahi. Axel Witsel was unavailable.

The two coaches opted for similar systems, with Franck Haise’s . . .